Waveguide optics is currently being considered for a range of display and sensor applications for which the ability of waveguides to integrate multiple optical functions into a thin, transparent, lightweight substrate is of key importance. This new approach is stimulating new product developments including near-eye displays for Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR), compact Heads Up Display (HUDs) for aviation and road transport and sensors for biometric and laser radar (LIDAR) applications. Waveguide displays have been proposed which use diffraction gratings to preserve eye box size while reducing lens size. U.S. Pat. No. 4,309,070 issued to St. Leger Searle and U.S. Pat. No. 4,711,512 issued to Upatnieks disclose substrate waveguide head up displays where the pupil of a collimating optical system is effectively expanded by the waveguide structure. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/869,866 discloses holographic wide angle displays and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/844,456 discloses waveguide displays having an upper and lower field of view.
A common requirement in waveguide optics is to provide beam expansion in two orthogonal directions. In display applications this translates to a large eyebox. While the principles of beam expansion in holographic waveguides are well established dual axis expansion requires separate grating layers to provide separate vertical and horizontal expansion. One of the gratings, usually the one giving the second axis expansion, also provides the near eye component of the display where the high transparency and thin, lightweight form factor of a diffractive optics can be used to maximum effect. In practical display applications, which demand full color and large fields of view the number of layers required to implement dual axis expansion becomes unacceptably large resulting in increased thickness weight and haze. Solutions for reducing the number of layers based on multiplexing two or more gratings in a single layer or fold gratings which can perform dual axis expansion (for a given angular range and wavelength) in a single layer are currently in development. Dual axis expansion is also an issue in waveguides for sensor applications such as eye trackers and LIDAR. There is a requirement for a low cost, efficient, compact dual axis expansion waveguide.
The use of HUD's in the motor industry is increasing in popularity especially in the motorcycle and recreational sport vehicle industry. Such industry applications enable the user to maintain focus on the road or surrounding environment while also receiving information about the users speed, engine conditions, phone calls, and possibly other extrinsic information that would otherwise divert the user's attention through the use of other external devices. The application of such displays is becoming essential for increased safety of the user and as a whole.